7 Don’t get mixed up with the nations left in your territory. Don’t ever mention the names of their gods or swear an oath to them. Don’t ever serve their gods or bow down to them.
8 But you must be loyal to the Lord your God, as you have been until now.
9 The Lord has forced important and powerful nations out of your way. Not one person has ever been able to stand up to you.
10 One of you used to chase a thousand. That was because the Lord your God was fighting for you, as he had promised you.
11 Be very careful to love the Lord your God.
12 “But if you turn away and go along with the other nations within your ⌊borders⌋, if you intermarry with them or associate with them,
13 then you should know that the Lord your God will never again force these people out of your way. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap for you, a whip laid to your sides, and thorns in your eyes until none of you are left in this good land that the Lord your God has given you.